The 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06: Free Upgrade For Everybody!

Like most of you, the first time I read the specs for the 2015 Corvette Z06, I was slackjawed. It seems like every time Chevy releases a new Corvette, my reaction is the same—they just keep raising the bar higher. As the proud owner of an LS2-powered 2006 Corvette (and previously the owner of an LT1-motivated 1994 Corvette), I've experienced firsthand the march of progress from behind the wheel, and I can't wait to get my hands on one of these 2015 Z06s. Heck, I'd be happy just to drive the new 460hp LT1-powered "base" model.

On paper at least, the 2015 Z06 is light years ahead of the LS2 2006 I'm driving now. Under the hood is the all-new LT4 with 625 hp. Like the LS9 (with 638 hp) in the outgoing limited-production ZR1, the LT4 is supercharged and 6.2 liters in displacement, but that's where the similarity ends. The LT4 is more an evolution of the new LT1, with active fuel management (cylinder deactivation), direct injection, and variable valve timing. The result is incredible efficiency and logic-defying fuel economy for such a high-powered engine. It looks like the LT4 will even be able to avoid a gas guzzler tax—efficiency is that good.

So guess what happens when you bestow 625 horsepower on mere mortals? For starters, they're really happy. Then about 0.2 seconds after stabbing the throttle for the first time, they're also happy about the active handling (StabiliTrak), which keeps all that power in a useable form. My 2006 has a more primitive version of active handling too, but since the LS2 only has 400 hp, it rarely wakes the computer beast. With the LT4's 625 hp however, it's sure to tickle the StabiliTrak on a regular basis. Those huge 285/30R19 and 335/25R20 tires on the new Z06 are sure to be screamin' too! And of course we don't want to gloss over the killer brake package (14.6 x 1.3-inch rotors with six-piston calipers in front and 14.4 x 1-inch rotors with 4-piston calipers in rear), or the standard 7-speed manual trans. Better yet is the first-ever-in-a-Z06 automatic trans with eight speeds and paddle shifters. With an available automatic, the Z06 will be accessible for the first time to thousands of well-heeled gen-X and gen-Y youngsters who have no idea what that extra pedal does.

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At some point, I will have a date with destiny and slide behind the wheel of the 2015 Z06. It reminds me of the first time I drove a 2006 Z06 with the 505hp LS7. It was absolutely exhilarating—I wouldn't have thought it possible that they could design a Corvette any better. In my mind, it was perfect, and to this day I lust for a C6 version of the Z06. But after stepping out of that car and handing the keys back to the Chevy PR guy after driving it 700 miles through California's twisty highways, I trudged over to my '94 Corvette. All of a sudden, I was driving a dinosaur, which just ten years prior had been the toast of the town. And as is often the practice with second-tier Corvette owners like myself, I waited four more years until I could afford to buy a second-hand base-model C6. I'm still waiting to make my move up to the last version of the Z06. So how does all this relate to the new Z06?

The Corvette team has done a great job over the generations of fostering the brand and building mystique around Corvette. Corvette owners are fanatical, whether they're able to afford the newest and greatest model, or they buy the hand-me-downs. Corvette is the only supercar brand in the world where the financial success of its top model actually depends on people who can't afford them. Huh?! Here's how it works. The guy who buys the 2015 Z06 took great care of his 2008 Z06, because that is what Corvette guys do. A guy like me will probably come along and buy it for close to $30k once the '15 Z06 hits. I will sell my 2006 Corvette for $20k—probably to a guy who owns a C5. That guy will sell his C5 for $12k to the guy who has a C4. That C4 will go to a young, first-time Corvette buyer for around $5k, who will probably pinch himself because he was looking at clapped-out Hondas for the same money. The whole thing is dependent on an eager, ready-made market for the outgoing model (and even older models), a market that nobody promotes better than Corvette with its regular parade of upgrades, updates, and special editions. It's probably the one documented instance of trickle-down economics working as advertised.

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The whole idea of taking care of your Corvette for the next guy is the cornerstone of Corvette ownership, and this phenomenon only happens because of the feeling of pride passed along with every Corvette. It doesn't matter if you've got a lowly '76 model with a 140hp L48—you are still beaming as you roll down the highway. Every time a new Corvette rolls out of Bowling Green, the entire Corvette universe sits up and takes notice; it means everybody is getting an upgrade—even the guy who had been shopping for a dull commuter car.

I'm going to make an easy prediction: With ZR1-like performance at a cute-rate Z06 price, The new 2015 Z06 is so good, all the top Corvette enthusiasts will have to have it. Team Corvette has made it so fast, so sexy, and so fuel efficient that it will be irresistible to anyone with a heartbeat and a credit rating high enough to make the payments. From past experience, Chevy will make the Z06 within reach of a surprising number of people with a price that will make—in an instant—all its supercar competitors guilty of grand larceny. You could hate Corvettes and it wouldn't matter. This Z06 is so earth-shattering, it will force everybody to up their game. Once again, free upgrade for everybody, courtesy of Chevrolet.